Monthly Archives: October 2018

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Understanding Riders in Annuities The Death Benefit Rider Sales Pitch Riders are endorsements added to annuity contracts sold to enhance the benefits payable under those contracts. There are several types of riders, two of the most common being income riders and death benefit riders.  We have written on […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Large Whistleblower Settlement For Illegal Upcoding False claims for inflated Medicare reimbursements (sometimes in the form of “upcoding”) are a common fraud against the government. Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers initiate the majority of recovery actions against companies for submitting such inflated claims. The California and San Francisco […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Fixed Index Annuities Americans pump billions into complex fixed indexed annuities every year. Insurance agents push the annuities as a safe bet in volatile markets – they’ll tell you the policy offers the upside of market increases (the “indexed” part) with downside protection (the “fixed” part).  Advertised […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Life Insurance Churning Millions of older Americans have whole life insurance policies with accumulated cash value. Typically, they were sold those policies when they were much younger as a tax deferred savings vehicle, passing the accumulation on to their children when they died.  Some insurance agents spot these […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Long-Term Care Insurance has always been sold by agents to help you pay for care when, later in life, you are unable to take care of yourself. Insureds trusted the policies would cover the costs of assisted living care, skilled nursing facilities, and in-home […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Financial Elder Abuse Elder abuse is a real problem in Contra Costa County. Case workers at Adult Protective Services for the county report handling more than twice the national average of elder abuse cases. Elder abuse includes both physical harm and neglect and financial exploitation ranging from forged […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Powers of Attorney and the Elderly A Power of Attorney (POA) is a very important legal document where the principal authorizes an agent to act on the principal’s behalf in business transactions and more. Someone with a Power of Attorney has legal authority to do things like transfer […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Massive Whistleblower Settlement Against Drug Company Healthcare fraud costs this country over $68 billion annually and part of that fraud is government payment for unapproved, substandard medications sold by drug manufacturers. The Department of Justice (DOJ) just settled a massive whistleblower suit against one drug company that repackaged […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Notify Authorities But Always Seek Counsel In California, anyone with a complaint about a nursing home can file that complaint with the Licensing and Certification Division of the California Department of Public Health (DPH). Complaints may concern abuse, neglect, poor care, injuries from elopement or wandering, lack of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Fighting Harm to Senior Citizens Insurance agents and carriers target seniors for expensive insurance products like life insurance and annuities that charge high premiums and pay big commissions but are unsuitable for the senior’s financial picture and station in life. After the policies are in place, seniors find […]